Issue 18 || 2014
A year ago, in November 2012, the Journal editorial team was sitting around in Ahalyaji’s room, wrapping things up for the seventeenth issue.
Letters to Schools: Volume One – 15 December 1978
Written by J.Krishnamurti
In one of the past letters we said that total responsibility is love.
Editorial
Written By Kamala Mukunda
A year ago, in November 2012, the Journal editorial team was sitting around in Ahalyaji’s room, wrapping things up for the seventeenth issue.
An Impersonal Responsibility
Written by Rajesh Dalal
How does one write about someone who, to begin with, was a total stranger and who, in less than a month, became more than a mother to you, and remained so, all her life?
Ahalya Chari As I Knew Her
Written By C Seshadri
Ahalya Chari was Principal of the Regional College of Education (now called Regional Institute of Education, Mysore, RIEM) in its early years when I joined the institution as a lecturer.
A Light Unto Oneself
Written by Deepti Mehrotra
Memories of Ahalya Di remain fresh, crisp. Just a few days before she passed away, I spent a precious week with her.
A Practice of Mindfulness Within Childhood Education
Written By Andy Gilman
The importance of self-knowledge is mentioned in many school mission statements, and this is not surprising.
Endearing and Trying: They Are Only Twelve-Year-Olds
Written by D Anantha Jyothi
In the literature class we were studying Lord of the Flies—a novel about a group of pre-adolescent school boys who crash land on a lonely island and fend for themselves in the absence of any adults.
Writing as a Way into the World: A Record of One Year Spent in Rishi Valley
Written By Azlan Smith
In the summer before I started teaching, I sought out one of my own childhood teachers and asked, ‘What is teaching? How do I support children in learning? What is it that I am trying to do?’
Nature as Teacher: Extending the Learning Community
Written by Gary Primrose
Environmental education is an ideal forum to put into practice some of the educational insights of Eleanor Duckworth.
Decline of Outdoor Activities Among Children: Why Should it Concern Us?
Written By V Santharam
What happened to all the children? I did not find anyone on my way here,’ enquired my guest, who was visiting Rishi Valley after a gap of several years.
Building Up and Coming Down
Written by Amanda Wood
In the course of our lives, we seem to know things in two, rather different ways.
The Art of Inquiry in the Literature Classroom: Musings from an Ex-English Teacher
Written by Meredy Beson Rice
I have always loved literature, largely because of the sentiments expressed in Dickinson’s poem.
In A Faraway Land: The Thinking Behind a School Excursion
Written By Thejaswi Shivanand
‘Where are we going for excursions this year?’ is invariably one of the early questions we face as the children return to begin a new year at Centre For Learning.
The Buddha, Rodin’s Thinker and a Pair of Birds: An Exploration into the Nature of Human Consciousness
Written by O R Rao
Two birds, inseparable companions, cling to the self-same tree. Of these, one eats the sweet fruit and the other looks on without eating.
The Mirror of the Text: Teaching Philosophy Through Knowing and Not-Knowing
Written By Valentin Gerlier
When teaching academic philosophy, one never ceases to be amazed at how little a subject once termed ‘the love of wisdom’ has to do with ‘wisdom’, let alone ‘love’.
On Sustaining ‘Culture Spaces’ in Schools
Written by Alok Mathur
We wake at dawn to the trilling calls of unfamiliar birds, go for a walk amidst the tea-bushes stretching row upon row on the steep slopes, bordered on the higher ridges by dense shola forests—an entirely new landscape!
Charms and Challenges of an Ancient Language: Teaching Sanskrit in Middle School
Written By Rajani Arjun Shankar
‘Why do we need to learn a dead language?’ ‘Where shall we ever use it?’ ‘Is Sanskrit relevant to today’s world?’
Process Behind a Pageant: An Interview with Akhila Seshadri
Written by Arvind Ranganathan
After the middle school MAG (Mixed Age Group) Day at The School- KFI, I spoke with my colleague Akhila Seshadri about what went into the production of a pageant presented by students of her class on that occasion.
A Master Class in Inquiry: Questioning Authority and the Awakening of Intelligence, Excerpts with Comments
Written By Steve Smith
In this edited extract we find Krishnamurti opening up one of his favourite topics: authority. At the same time, the topic itself is linked to another: the awakening of intelligence.